LED Lighting Today

LED Lighting Today

With rapidly evolving technology, LED lighting is the future of how we use and see lighting in our homes. For most homeowners it can be a daunting task when choosing the correct LED fixture and or bulb for their home.

Lauren recently discussed the trends, benefits and advancements of LED lighting with Ed Jaco, showroom manager at Inline Lighting. Though we at Accents of the South and others in the design industry have been utilizing LED lighting for several years, it has only been in the past few years that LED’s have become affordable for home use. With advancements in energy efficiency, color availability, dimmability, and Wi-Fi/ app capability, it has made them very desirable to the average homeowner.

LED fixtures have been around a lot longer than you might think. The first visible LED was developed in 1962 at General Electric. Over the past fifty years, LED’s have been improved and are now used in all types of applications.

The first successful Red LED.

“Buy an LED when your baby is born, and they can change the bulb when they graduate high school!”

One of the biggest advantages to LED’s is their energy efficiency. An LED bulb saves 85-92% energy usage in comparison to an incandescent bulb. Also an LED will not put off the heat that an incandescent will. 80-90% of the energy an incandescent uses produces heat. This is due to the filament having to heat up in order to produce light. LED’s also last 10 – 40 times longer, allowing them to last for several years. Though more expensive than incandescent lighting, typically you will make your money back in 2 years when you purchase an LED bulb. Ed tells his customers, “Buy an LED when your baby is born, and they can change the bulb when they graduate high school!”

Kelvins- The Measure of Light

Another change to LED’s is the availability of color. The color of light is measured in Kelvin. It will range from a warm 2700k to a cool 6000k. Before LED’s tended to be on the cooler, bluer side, which many people did not like. Now with warmer options, you can get a bulb that is 3000k, a nice warm white light. This color temperature will give you true incandescent color and is always our go-to for lighting a home.

Controlled LED’s

Dimmable capabilities has also been an issue in the past with LED lighting. It took some time to figure out how to control the intensity or level of the light. Ed compared it to, “Owning a stove with only one setting.” Today we have the ability to easily dim LED’s. This has really opened the door for a lot consumers and types of application.

LED’s are even compatible with apps on your phone or through your Wi-Fi. With these advances, you can turn on your lights remotely, as well as control the color of light from your phone. This can be for reading, watching a movie, and even party modes!

It’s amazing how far LED’s have come in the last fifty years, and we’re excited to see what the future will hold.

We would love to help you on your next lighting project. Reach out to us here or give us a call today!